What is Your Role as a Mentee?

The success of the mentoring relationship depends as much on the mentee as the mentor - if not more. As a mentee, your role is to communicate the support you need to your mentee and work collaboratively with them to achieve your goals.

• As a mentee, you should take ownership of scheduling meetings with your mentor as well as setting the agenda for each meeting. Being proactive and prepared when it comes to meeting up with your mentor is key to ensuring that you're working on what matters in the relationship.

• Your role as a mentee is to have a clear idea of what you want to learn from your mentor - and communicate this to them. While exactly what you want to learn may change over the course of the relationship, it's important to give them a brief idea of what you want to learn, so that they can gear their guidance towards your goals.

• As a mentee, it is important that you are teachable. A mentor can provide great guidance, but a mentee who does not want to learn will not reap the benefits of the relationship. Practically, being teachable means being proactive and taking initiative in the learning process.

• A large part of your role as a mentee is also to actively listen. While you need to communicate your needs to your mentor, it is as important that you absorb the guidance you receive from them. As a mentee, you should always be actively engaging with the guidance you receive and ask questions when you aren't clear on something.

• Lastly, as a mentee, you should share your progress and learnings with your mentor. One of the major benefits of having a mentor in your corner is the fact that they can help you stay accountable as you work on your goals. Similarly, if you feel stuck at any point on your journey, they can help you come unstuck. For this reason, it's important that you, as a mentee, let your mentor know how you're progressing towards your goals so that they know when you might need a little bit of extra support.